Rainbow Minestrone Soup
This soup is knock-your-socks-off good! Adapted from an old recipe of my grandmother's, it uses the secret ingredient of olive juice for umami! Orange winter squash, purple carrots, yellow summer squash, and green spinach give the colors of the rainbow.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
"Beefy" Veggie Stock
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 5 tbsp Bragg's aminos soy sauce or tamari
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp granulated onion
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Rest of Soup
- 1 butternut or other winter squash peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 2 leeks white and light green sections thinly sliced
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 28 oz can chopped tomatoes and juice
- 1 1/2 cups drained and rinsed scarlet runner or red kidney beans
- 15 oz can whole black olives and juice
- 1 1/2 cup thinly sliced purple carrots or orange if you cannot find purple
- 2 cups yellow summer squash or green zucchini, thinly sliced into half moon shape
- 1 cup small shell macaroni or other small soup pasta, gluten-free if sensitive
- 1 bunch spinach, kale, Swiss chard, or other hearty green of choice sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons, about 4 cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Make the Beefy Vegetable Stock. Combine all of the stock ingredients in a large saucepan, bring to a boil and then take off the heat. Let set for 15 minutes and then strain to remove any solids so you get a clear broth. Set aside.
- Prep your veggies.
- Heat a large, ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the butternut squash, leeks, chopped garlic, salt, pepper, and a bay leaf and saute. Add a little beefy veggie stock if things start to stick. You want to get some browned bits on the bottom of the pan. This step adds flavor to the squash and a base layer of flavor to the pan.
- When the squash and pan get a little color and the leeks are soft, add your strained Beefy broth, water, Italian seasoning, tomatoes, beans, can of olives and their juice, and carrots. Stir to incorporate any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cover and put into preheat oven for 30 minutes.
- Add pasta and stir. Sprinkle sliced summer squash on top. Cover and bake another 30 minutes.
- Remove pot from the oven. Add the ribbons of greens and stir to incorporate. Let set a few minutes so the greens wilt before serving.